1.
(a)This Act may be cited as the Grow American Supply Act
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Policy.
Sec. 3. Definitions under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act.
Sec. 4. Determination of Adjacent Zones and Planning
Areas.
Sec. 5. Administration of leasing.
Sec. 6. Grant of leases by Secretary.
Sec. 7. Disposition of receipts.
Sec. 8. Review of outer Continental Shelf exploration
plans.
Sec. 9. Reservation of lands and rights.
Sec. 10. Outer Continental Shelf leasing program.
Sec. 11. Coordination with Adjacent States.
Sec. 12. Environmental studies.
Sec. 13. Review of outer Continental Shelf development and
production plans.
Sec. 14. Termination of effect of laws prohibiting the spending
of appropriated funds for certain purposes.
Sec. 15. Outer Continental Shelf incompatible use.
Sec. 16. Repurchase of certain leases.
Sec. 17. Offsite environmental mitigation.
Sec. 18. Regulation of onshore surface-disturbing
activities.
Sec. 19. Authority to use decommissioned offshore oil and gas
platforms and other facilities for artificial reef, scientific research, or
other uses.
Sec. 20. OCS regional headquarters.
Sec. 21. Oil shale and tar sands amendments.
Sec. 22. Buy and build American.
Sec. 23. Repeal of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of
2006.
Sec. 24. Royalty-in-kind.
Sec. 25. Mandatory issuance of regulations promoting production
of natural gas from gas hydrates.
Sec. 26. Mandatory issuance of regulations promoting enhanced
oil and natural gas production through carbon dioxide injection.
Sec. 27. Minimum rental rates for future oil, gas, and coal
Federal leases.
Sec. 28. Outer Continental Shelf discharges and
emissions.
Sec. 29. Onshore oil and gas royalties.
Sec. 30. OCS joint permitting offices.
2.It is the policy of the United States
that—
(1)the United States
is blessed with abundant energy resources on the outer Continental Shelf and
has developed a comprehensive framework of environmental laws and regulations
and fostered the development of state-of-the-art technology that allows for the
responsible development of these resources for the benefit of its
citizenry;
(2)adjacent States
are required by the circumstances to commit significant resources in support of
exploration, development, and production activities for mineral resources on
the outer Continental Shelf, and it is fair and proper for a portion of the
receipts from such activities to be shared with Adjacent States and their local
coastal governments;
(3)the existing laws
governing the leasing and production of the mineral resources of the outer
Continental Shelf have reduced the production of mineral resources, have
preempted Adjacent States from being sufficiently involved in the decisions
regarding the allowance of mineral resource development, and have been harmful
to the national interest;
(4)the national
interest is served by granting the Adjacent States more options related to
whether or not mineral leasing should occur in the outer Continental Shelf
within their Adjacent Zones;
(5)it is not
reasonably foreseeable that exploration of a leased tract located more than 25
miles seaward of the coastline, development and production of a natural gas
discovery located more than 25 miles seaward of the coastline, or development
and production of an oil discovery located more than 50 miles seaward of the
coastline will adversely affect resources near the coastline;
(6)transportation of
oil from a leased tract might reasonably be foreseen, under limited
circumstances, to have the potential to adversely affect resources near the
coastline if the oil is within 50 miles of the coastline, but such potential to
adversely affect such resources is likely no greater, and probably less, than
the potential impacts from tanker transportation because tanker spills usually
involve large releases of oil over a brief period of time; and
(7)among other bodies
of inland waters, the Great Lakes, Long Island Sound, Delaware Bay, Chesapeake
Bay, Albemarle Sound, San Francisco Bay, and Puget Sound are not part of the
outer Continental Shelf, and are not subject to leasing by the Federal
Government for the exploration, development, and production of any mineral
resources that might lie beneath them.
3.Definitions under
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands ActSection 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended—
(1)by amending
subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f)The term
affected State means the Adjacent
State.
;
(2)by striking the
semicolon at the end of each of subsections (a) through (o) and inserting a
period;
(3)by striking
; and
at the end of subsection (p) and inserting a
period;
(4)by adding at the
end the following:
(r)The term
Adjacent State means, with respect to any program, plan, lease
sale, leased tract or other activity, proposed, conducted, or approved pursuant
to the provisions of this Act, any State the laws of which are declared,
pursuant to section 4(a)(2), to be the law of the United States for the portion
of the outer Continental Shelf on which such program, plan, lease sale, leased
tract or activity appertains or is, or is proposed to be, conducted. For
purposes of this Act, the term State includes all States having a
coastline contiguous to the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans and the Gulf
of Mexico, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the other
Territories of the United States, and the District of Columbia.
(s)The term
Adjacent Zone means, with respect to any program, plan, lease
sale, leased tract, or other activity, proposed, conducted, or approved
pursuant to the provisions of this Act, the portion of the outer Continental
Shelf for which the laws of a particular Adjacent State are declared, pursuant
to section 4(a)(2), to be the law of the United States.
(t)The term
miles means statute miles.
(u)The term
coastline has the same meaning as the term coast line
as defined in section 2(c) of the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1301(c)).
(v)The term
Neighboring State means a coastal State having a common boundary
at the coastline with the Adjacent
State.
;
and
(5)in subsection (a),
by inserting after control
the following: or lying within
the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone and outer Continental Shelf adjacent
to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the other Territories of
the United States
.
4.Determination of
Adjacent Zones and Planning AreasSection 4(a)(2)(A) of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)(A)) is amended in the first sentence by
striking , and the President
and all that follows through the
end of the sentence and inserting the following: . The lines extending
seaward and defining each State’s Adjacent Zone, and each OCS Planning Area,
are as indicated on the maps for each outer Continental Shelf region entitled
Alaska OCS Region State Adjacent Zone and OCS Planning Areas
,
Pacific OCS Region State Adjacent Zones and OCS Planning Areas
,
Gulf of Mexico OCS Region State Adjacent Zones and OCS Planning
Areas
, and Atlantic OCS Region State Adjacent Zones and OCS
Planning Areas
, all of which are dated September 2005 and on file in
the Office of the Director, Minerals Management Service. The Secretary shall
designate the Adjacent Zones of States, and additional OCS Planning Areas, for
parts of the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone and outer Continental Shelf
not covered by the referenced maps.
.
5.Administration of
leasingSection 5 of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
(k)Voluntary
Partial Relinquishment of a LeaseAny lessee of a producing lease
may relinquish to the Secretary any portion of a lease that the lessee has no
interest in producing and that the Secretary finds is geologically prospective.
In return for any such relinquishment, the Secretary shall provide to the
lessee a royalty incentive for the portion of the lease retained by the lessee,
in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary to carry out this
subsection. The Secretary shall publish final regulations implementing this
subsection within 365 days after the date of enactment of the
Grow American Supply
Act.
(l)Natural Gas
Lease RegulationsNot later than July 1, 2010, the Secretary
shall publish a final regulation that shall—
(1)establish
procedures for entering into natural gas leases;
(2)ensure that
natural gas leases are only available for tracts on the outer Continental Shelf
that are wholly within 75 miles of the coastline within an area withdrawn from
disposition by leasing on the day after the date of enactment of the
Grow American Supply
Act;
(3)provide that
natural gas leases shall contain the same rights and obligations established
for oil and gas leases, except as otherwise provided in the
Grow American Supply
Act;
(4)provide that, in
reviewing the adequacy of bids for natural gas leases, the value of any crude
oil estimated to be contained within any tract shall be excluded;
(5)provide that any
crude oil produced from a well and reinjected into the leased tract shall not
be subject to payment of royalty, and that the Secretary shall consider, in
setting the royalty rates for a natural gas lease, the additional cost to the
lessee of not producing any crude oil; and
(6)provide that any
Federal law that applies to an oil and gas lease on the outer Continental Shelf
shall apply to a natural gas lease unless otherwise clearly
inapplicable.
.
6.Grant of leases by
SecretarySection 8 of the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a)(1) by inserting after the first sentence the following: Further, the
Secretary may grant natural gas leases in a manner similar to the granting of
oil and gas leases and under the various bidding systems available for oil and
gas leases.
;
(2)in subsection
(a)(1) by striking 12½ per centum
in each
occurrence and inserting 162/3 per centum
for each;
(3)in
subsection (a)(1) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as subparagraph (J), and
inserting the following new subparagraph (I):
(I)cash bonus bid
with royalty fixed by the Secretary at 18¾ per centum in
the amount or value of production saved, removed, or sold, subject to the
following adjustments:
(i)if
the arithmetic average of the closing prices on the New York Mercantile
Exchange for light sweet crude oil, or a similar index as determined by the
Secretary, for the 365 days prior to issuance of the final notice of lease sale
exceeded $150.00 per barrel (in January 1, 2008, dollars), the royalty rate
shall be fixed by the Secretary at 20 per centum in the amount or value of
production, removed, or sold;
(ii)if the arithmetic
average of the closing prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange for light
sweet crude oil, or a similar index as determined by the Secretary, for the 365
days prior to issuance of the final notice of lease sale was less than $75.00
per barrel (in January 1, 2008, dollars), the royalty rate shall be fixed by
the Secretary at 17½ per centum in the amount or value of
production, removed, or sold;
(iii)the royalty rate
fixed in the lease shall be reduced up to 4 per centum as follows:
(I)100 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded within 3 years after
issuance of the lease,
(II)75 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 3 and 4 years after
issuance of the lease,
(III)50 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 4 and 5 years after
issuance of the lease, and
(IV)25 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 5 and 6 years after
issuance of the
lease.
;
(4)in subsection (a)
by adding the following:
(9)The Secretary
shall use only the bidding system provided for in paragraph (1)(I) of this
subsection for all lease sales conducted from January 1, 2010, through January
1, 2020. However, the Secretary may reduce the royalty rate fixed under that
bidding system by up to 2 per centum for tracts located in frontier areas, as
determined by the Secretary, if the Secretary finds that the royalty rate
otherwise fixed by the bidding system would likely significantly reduce
production resulting from use of such bidding system in frontier areas.
(10)The royalty rate
for leases in effect on January 1, 2010, having a royalty rate of
183/4 per centum, that have not spudded the first
production well prior to July 1, 2009, shall be reduced up to 4 per centum as
follows:
(A)100 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded within 3 years after
issuance of the lease,
(B)75 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 3 and 4 years after
issuance of the lease,
(C)50 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 4 and 5 years after
issuance of the lease, and
(D)25 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 5 and 6 years after
issuance of the lease.
(11)The royalty rate
for leases in effect on January 1, 2010, having a royalty rate of less than
18¾ per centum, that have not spudded the first production
well prior to July 1, 2009, shall be reduced by up to 2 per centum as
follows:
(A)100 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded within 3 years after
issuance of the lease,
(B)75 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 3 and 4 years after
issuance of the lease,
(C)50 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 4 and 5 years after
issuance of the lease, and
(D)25 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 5 and 6 years after
issuance of the
lease.
;
(5)by adding at the
end of subsection (b) the following: The Secretary may issue more than
one lease for a given tract if each lease applies to a separate and distinct
range of vertical depths, horizontal surface area, or a combination of the two.
The Secretary may issue regulations that the Secretary determines are necessary
to manage such leases consistent with the purposes of this Act.
;
(6)by amending
subsection (p)(2)(B) to read as follows:
(B)The Secretary
shall provide for the payment to coastal States, and their local coastal
governments, of 50 percent of Federal receipts from projects authorized under
this section located within the area extending seaward of State submerged
lands. Payments shall be based on a formula established by the Secretary by
rulemaking no later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the that
provides for equitable distribution, based on proximity to the project, among
coastal States that have a coastline that is located within 200 miles of the
geographic center of the project.
;
and
(7)by adding at the
end the following:
(q)
(1)Right to produce
natural gasA lessee of a natural gas lease shall have the right
to produce the natural gas from a field on a natural gas leased tract if the
Secretary estimates that the discovered field has at least 40 percent of the
economically recoverable Btu content of the field contained within natural gas
and such natural gas is economical to produce.
(2)A lessee of a natural gas lease may not produce crude oil
from the lease unless the Governor of the Adjacent State agrees to such
production.
(3)The Secretary shall make estimates of the natural gas Btu
content of discovered fields on a natural gas lease only after the completion
of at least one exploration well, the data from which has been tied to the
results of a three-dimensional seismic survey of the field. The Secretary may
not require the lessee to further delineate any discovered field prior to
making such estimates.
(4)Definition of
natural gasFor purposes of a natural gas lease, natural gas
means natural gas and all substances produced in association with gas,
including, but not limited to, hydrocarbon liquids (other than crude oil) that
are obtained by the condensation of hydrocarbon vapors and separate out in
liquid form from the produced gas stream.
(r)Removal of
Restrictions on Joint Bidding in Certain Areas of the Outer Continental
ShelfRestrictions on joint bidders shall no longer apply to
tracts determined to be frontier tracts
or otherwise high
cost tracts
under final regulations that shall be published by the
Secretary by not later than 365 days after the date of enactment of the
Grow American Supply
Act.
(s)Royalty
Suspension ProvisionsThe Secretary shall agree to a request by
any lessee to amend any lease issued for Central and Western Gulf of Mexico
tracts during the period of December 1, 1995, through December 31, 2000, to
incorporate price thresholds applicable to royalty suspension provisions, or
amend existing price thresholds, in the amount of $40.50 per barrel (January 1,
2008, dollars) for oil and for natural gas of $6.75 per million Btu (January 1,
2008, dollars). Any royalties paid because of such new or revised price
thresholds shall be treated as offsetting receipts. Any royalties paid under
lease price thresholds agreed to after the date of enactment of the
Grow American Supply Act shall
be subject to immediate receipts sharing under section 9, and the balance not
shared under that section shall be transferred by the Secretary of the Interior
to the Treasury.
(t)Mandatory Price
Thresholds for Royalty Suspension VolumesAfter the date of
enactment of the Grow American Supply
Act, price thresholds shall apply to any royalty suspension
volumes granted by the Secretary. Unless otherwise set by the Secretary by
regulation or for a particular lease sale within the final notice of sale, the
price thresholds shall be $40.50 for oil (January 1, 2008, dollars) and $6.75
for natural gas (January 1, 2008,
dollars).
.
7.
(a)Amendment of
Outer Continental Shelf Lands ActSection 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended as follows:
(1)By designating the
existing text as subsection (a).
(2)In subsection (a)
(as so designated) by inserting , if not paid as otherwise provided in
this title
after receipts
.
(3)by adding the
following:
(b)Treatment of OCS
Receipts
(1)The
Secretary shall deposit into a separate account in the Treasury the portion of
OCS Receipts for each fiscal year that will be shared under paragraph
(2).
(2)Immediate
receipts sharingBeginning October 1, 2009, the Secretary shall
share 50 percent of OCS Receipts derived from all leases, except that the
Secretary shall only share 25 percent of such OCS Receipts derived from all
such leases within a State’s Adjacent Zone if leasing is not allowed within at
least 25 percent of that State’s Adjacent Zone located completely within 75
miles of any coastline.
(3)The
Secretary shall allocate the OCS Receipts deposited into the separate account
established by paragraph (1) that are shared under paragraph (2) as
follows:
(A)Deposits derived from
bonus bids from a leased tract, including interest thereon, shall be allocated
at the end of each fiscal year to the Adjacent State.
(B)Deposits
derived from royalties and net profit shares from a leased tract, including
interest thereon, shall be allocated at the end of each fiscal year as
follows:
(i)50
percent to the Adjacent State.
(ii)50 percent to all
States, including the Adjacent State, having a coastline point within 300 miles
of the leased tract, divided equally, if such State allows leasing within at
least 25 percent of its Adjacent Zone within 75 miles of the coastline.
(C)Limitation if
not admitted to the union as a StateAny entity defined as a
State
under section 2(r), that has not been admitted to the
Union as a State shall only be entitled to one-half of a State
share under this paragraph.
(c)Transmission of
Allocations
(1)Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year,
the Secretary shall transmit—
(A)to each State 60
percent of such State’s allocations under subsections (b)(2), (b)(3)(A), and
(b)(3)(B)(i) and (ii) for the immediate prior fiscal year; and
(B)to each coastal
county-equivalent and municipal political subdivisions of such State a total of
40 percent of such State’s allocations under subsections (b)(2), (b)(3)(A), and
(b)(3)(B)(i) and (ii), for the immediate prior fiscal year, together with all
accrued interest thereon.
(2)Allocations to
coastal county-equivalent political subdivisionsThe Secretary
shall make an initial allocation of the OCS Receipts to be shared under
paragraph (1)(B) as follows:
(A)25 percent shall
be allocated to coastal county-equivalent political subdivisions that are
completely more than 25 miles landward of the coastline and at least a part of
which lies not more than 75 miles landward from the coastline, with the
allocation among such coastal county-equivalent political subdivisions based on
population.
(B)75 percent shall
be allocated to coastal county-equivalent political subdivisions that are
completely or partially less than 25 miles landward of the coastline, with the
allocation among such coastal county-equivalent political subdivisions to be
further allocated as follows:
(i)25
percent shall be allocated based on the ratio of such coastal county-equivalent
political subdivision’s population to the coastal population of all coastal
county-equivalent political subdivisions in the State.
(ii)25 percent shall
be allocated based on the ratio of such coastal county-equivalent political
subdivision’s coastline miles to the coastline miles of all coastal
county-equivalent political subdivisions in the State as calculated by the
Secretary. In such calculations, coastal county-equivalent political
subdivisions without a coastline shall be considered to have 50 percent of the
average coastline miles of the coastal county-equivalent political subdivisions
that do have coastlines.
(iii)50 percent shall
be allocated equally to all coastal county-equivalent political subdivisions
having a coastline point within 300 miles of the leased tract for which OCS
Receipts are being shared.
(3)Allocations to
coastal municipal political subdivisionsThe initial allocation
to each coastal county-equivalent political subdivision under paragraph (2)
shall be further allocated to the coastal county-equivalent political
subdivision and any coastal municipal political subdivisions located partially
or wholly within the boundaries of the coastal county-equivalent political
subdivision as follows:
(A)One-third shall be
allocated to the coastal county-equivalent political subdivision.
(B)Two-thirds shall
be allocated on a per capita basis to the municipal political subdivisions and
the county-equivalent political subdivision, with the allocation to the latter
based upon its population not included within the boundaries of a municipal
political subdivision.
(d)Amounts deposited under this section shall be invested
by the Secretary of the Treasury in securities backed by the full faith and
credit of the United States having maturities suitable to the needs of the
account in which they are deposited and yielding the highest reasonably
available interest rates as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(e)A recipient of funds under this section may use the funds
for one or more of the following:
(1)To reduce in-State
college tuition at public institutions of higher learning and otherwise support
public education, including career technical education.
(2)To make
transportation infrastructure improvements.
(3)To reduce
taxes.
(4)To promote, fund,
and provide for—
(A)coastal or
environmental restoration;
(B)fish, wildlife,
and marine life habitat enhancement;
(C)waterways
construction and maintenance;
(D)levee construction
and maintenance and shore protection; and
(E)marine and
oceanographic education and research.
(5)To promote, fund,
and provide for—
(A)infrastructure
associated with energy production activities conducted on the outer Continental
Shelf;
(B)energy
demonstration projects;
(C)supporting
infrastructure for shore-based energy projects;
(D)State geologic
programs, including geologic mapping and data storage programs, and State
geophysical data acquisition;
(E)State seismic
monitoring programs, including operation of monitoring stations;
(F)development of oil
and gas resources through enhanced recovery techniques;
(G)alternative energy
development, including bio fuels, coal-to-liquids, oil shale, tar sands,
geothermal, geopressure, wind, waves, currents, hydro, and other renewable
energy;
(H)energy efficiency
and conservation programs; and
(I)front-end
engineering and design for facilities that produce liquid fuels from
hydrocarbons and other biological matter.
(6)To promote, fund,
and provide for—
(A)historic
preservation programs and projects;
(B)natural disaster
planning and response; and
(C)hurricane and
natural disaster insurance programs.
(7)For any other
purpose as determined by State law.
(f)No recipient of funds under this section shall be
required to account to the Federal Government for the expenditure of such
funds, except as otherwise may be required by law. However, States may enact
legislation providing for accounting for and auditing of such expenditures.
Further, funds allocated under this section to States and political
subdivisions may be used as matching funds for other Federal programs.
(g)Enactment of any future Federal statute that has the effect,
as determined by the Secretary, of restricting any Federal agency from spending
appropriated funds, or otherwise preventing it from fulfilling its pre-existing
responsibilities as of the date of enactment of the statute, unless such
responsibilities have been reassigned to another Federal agency by the statute
with no prevention of performance, to issue any permit or other approval
impacting on the OCS oil and gas leasing program, or any lease issued
thereunder, or to implement any provision of this Act shall automatically
prohibit any sharing of OCS Receipts under this section directly with the
States, and their coastal political subdivisions, for the duration of the
restriction. The Secretary shall make the determination of the existence of
such restricting effects within 30 days of a petition by any outer Continental
Shelf lessee or producing State.
(h)Use of Federal
revenues from certain new leases To reduce Social Security debt
(1)Special
Dedicated Account in Social Security Trust Fund25 percent of OCS
Receipts that are derived from leases under this Act on tracts that would not
have been available for leasing prior to the enactment of the
Grow American Supply Act and
that would otherwise have been deposited in the General Fund of the Treasury
and not allocated to any other specific use shall be deposited in a Special
Dedicated Account in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.
Notwithstanding section 201(d) of the Social Security Act, amounts deposited in
the Special Dedicated Account under this subsection shall be invested by the
Secretary of the Treasury in securities backed by the full faith and credit of
the United States having maturities suitable to the needs of the account in
which they are deposited and yielding the highest reasonably available interest
rates as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(2)No
portion of the principal amount of such Special Dedicated Account or of the
accrued interest in such account may be expended in any fiscal year unless the
Secretary of the Treasury determines that revenues allocated to the Federal
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund in that fiscal year will be less
than expenditures from the Fund in that fiscal year, and in any such fiscal
year the Secretary may transfer such amounts as may be necessary from the
Special Dedicated Account to the general account in the Federal Old-Age and
Survivors Insurance Trust Fund for expenditure in that fiscal year to the
extent necessary to equalize revenues and expenditures from such Trust Fund in
that fiscal year.
(i)In
this section:
(1)Coastal
county-equivalent political subdivisionThe term coastal
county-equivalent political subdivision means a political jurisdiction
immediately below the level of State government, including a county, parish,
borough in Alaska, independent municipality not part of a county, parish, or
borough in Alaska, or other equivalent subdivision of a coastal State, that
lies within the coastal zone.
(2)Coastal
municipal political subdivisionThe term coastal municipal
political subdivision means a municipality located within and part of a
county, parish, borough in Alaska, or other equivalent subdivision of a State,
all or part of which coastal municipal political subdivision lies within the
coastal zone.
(3)The term coastal population means the
population of all coastal county-equivalent political subdivisions, as
determined by the most recent official data of the Census Bureau.
(4)The term coastal zone means that portion of a
coastal State, including the entire territory of any coastal county-equivalent
political subdivision at least a part of which lies, within 75 miles landward
from the coastline, or a greater distance as determined by State law enacted to
implement this section.
(5)The term bonus bids means all funds received by
the Secretary to issue an outer Continental Shelf minerals lease.
(6)The
term royalties means all funds received by the Secretary from
production of oil or natural gas, or the sale of production taken in-kind, or
from net profit shares, from an outer Continental Shelf minerals lease.
(7)The term producing State means an Adjacent
State having an Adjacent Zone containing leased tracts from which OCS Receipts
were derived.
(8)The term OCS Receipts means bonus bids and
royalties, excluding royalties from leases amended under the authority of
section 8(s) of this
Act.
.
(b)Amendment of
Internal Revenue Code of 1986
(1)Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
9511.Deficit
Reduction Trust Fund
(a)There is established in the Treasury of the
United States a trust fund to be known as the ‘Deficit Reduction Trust Fund’,
consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to the Deficit
Reduction Trust Fund as provided in this section.
(b)There are hereby appropriated to the
Deficit Reduction Trust Fund amounts equivalent to 25 percent of all OCS
Receipts, as defined in section 9(i)(8) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act (43 U.S.C. 1338), that are derived from leases under that Act on tracts
that would not have been available for leasing prior to the enactment of the
Grow American Supply Act and
that would otherwise have been deposited in the General Fund of the Treasury
and not allocated to any other specific use.
(c)Amounts
in the Deficit Reduction Trust Fund shall be available as provided in
appropriation Acts only for the purpose of reducing the Federal
debt.
.
(2)The table of sections at the beginning of such
subchapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
9511. Deficit Reduction Trust
Fund.
.
8.Review of outer
Continental Shelf exploration plansSubsections (c) and (d) of section 11 of the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340) are amended to read as
follows:
(c)Plan Review;
Plan Provisions
(1)Except as
otherwise provided in this Act, prior to commencing exploration pursuant to any
oil and gas lease issued or maintained under this Act, the holder thereof shall
submit an exploration plan (hereinafter in this section referred to as a
plan
) to the Secretary for review which shall include all
information and documentation required under paragraphs (2) and (3). The
Secretary shall review the plan for completeness within 10 days of submission.
If the Secretary finds that the plan is not complete, the Secretary shall
notify the lessee with a detailed explanation and require such modifications of
such plan as are necessary to achieve completeness. The Secretary shall have 10
days to review a modified plan for completeness. Such plan may apply to more
than one lease held by a lessee in any one region of the outer Continental
Shelf, or by a group of lessees acting under a unitization, pooling, or
drilling agreement, and the lessee shall certify that such plan is consistent
with the terms of the lease and is consistent with all statutory and regulatory
requirements in effect on the date of issuance of the lease, and any
regulations promulgated under this Act to the conservation of resources after
the date of lease issuances. The Secretary shall have 30 days from the date the
plan is deemed complete to conduct a review of the plan. If the Secretary finds
the plan is not consistent with the lease and all such statutory and regulatory
requirements, the Secretary shall notify the lessee with a detailed explanation
of such modifications of such plan as are necessary to achieve compliance. The
Secretary shall have 30 days to review any modified plan submitted by the
lessee. The lessee shall not take any action under the exploration plan within
the 30-day review period, or thereafter until the plan has been modified to
achieve compliance as so notified.
(2)An exploration
plan submitted under this subsection shall include, in the degree of detail
which the Secretary may by regulation require—
(A)a schedule of
anticipated exploration activities to be undertaken;
(B)a description of
equipment to be used for such activities;
(C)the general
location of each well to be drilled; and
(D)such other
information deemed pertinent by the Secretary.
(3)The Secretary may,
by regulation, require that such plan be accompanied by a general statement of
development and production intentions which shall be for planning purposes only
and which shall not be binding on any party.
(d)Plan Revisions;
Conduct of Exploration Activities
(1)If a significant
revision of an exploration plan under this subsection is submitted to the
Secretary, the process to be used for the review of such revision shall be the
same as set forth in subsection (c) of this section.
(2)All exploration
activities pursuant to any lease shall be conducted in accordance with an
exploration plan or a revised plan which has been submitted to and reviewed by
the
Secretary.
.
9.Reservation of
lands and rightsSection 12 of
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341) is amended—
(1)in subsection (a)
by adding at the end the following: The President may partially or
completely revise or revoke any prior withdrawal made by the President under
the authority of this section. The President may not revise or revoke a
withdrawal that is extended by a State under subsection (h), nor may the
President withdraw from leasing any area for which a State failed to prohibit,
or petition to prohibit, leasing under subsection (g). Further, in the area of
the outer Continental Shelf more than 75 miles from any coastline, not more
than 25 percent of the acreage of any OCS Planning Area may be withdrawn from
leasing under this section at any point in time. A withdrawal by the President
may be for a term not to exceed 5 years. Except when otherwise provided by law,
when considering potential uses of the outer Continental Shelf, to the maximum
extent possible, the President shall accommodate competing interests and
potential uses.
; and
(2)by adding at the
end the following:
(g)Availability for
Leasing Within Certain Areas of the Outer Continental Shelf
(1)Prohibition
against leasing
(A)Unavailable for
leasing without state requestExcept as otherwise provided in
this subsection, from and after the date of enactment of the
Grow American Supply Act, the
Secretary shall not offer for leasing for oil and gas, or natural gas, any area
within 35 miles of the coastline that was withdrawn from disposition by leasing
in the Atlantic OCS Region or the Pacific OCS Region, or the Gulf of Mexico OCS
Region Eastern Planning Area, as depicted on the maps referred to in this
subparagraph, under the Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas of the
United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition
, 34
Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1111, dated June 12, 1998, or any area within 35 miles
of the coastline not withdrawn from leasing under that Memorandum that is
included within the territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the other Territories of
the United States, or any area within 35 miles of the coastline within the
Florida Straits Planning Area as indicated on the map entitled Atlantic
OCS Region State Adjacent Zones and OCS Planning Areas
, which is dated
September 2005 and on file in the Office of the Director, Minerals Management
Service.
(B)Areas between 35
and 75 miles from the coastlineUnless an Adjacent State
petitions under subsection (h) within one year after the date of enactment of
the Grow American Supply Act
for natural gas leasing or within three years after date of enactment for oil
and gas leasing, the Secretary shall offer for leasing any area more than 35
miles but less than 75 miles from the coastline that was withdrawn from
disposition by leasing in the Atlantic OCS Region, the Pacific OCS Region, or
the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region Eastern Planning Area, as depicted on the maps
referred to in this subparagraph, under the Memorandum on Withdrawal of
Certain Areas of the United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing
Disposition
, 34 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1111, dated June 12, 1998, or
any area more than 35 miles but less than 75 miles of the coastline not
withdrawn under that Memorandum that is included within the Exclusive Economic
Zone adjacent to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the
other Territories of the United States, or any area more than 35 miles but less
than 75 miles of the coastline within the Florida Straits Planning Area as
indicated on the map entitled Atlantic OCS Region State Adjacent Zones
and OCS Planning Areas
, which is dated September 2005 and on file in
the Office of the Director, Minerals Management Service.
(2)The provisions of the Memorandum on Withdrawal
of Certain Areas of the United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing
Disposition
, 34 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1111, dated June 12, 1998, are
hereby revoked and are no longer in effect. Any area in the OCS withdrawn from
leasing may be leased, and thereafter developed and produced by the lessee
using extended reach or similar drilling from a location on a leased area
located in an area available for leasing.
(3)
(A)The Governor of the State, upon enactment of a State
statute providing for such, shall submit to the Secretary a petition requesting
that the Secretary make available any area that is within the State’s Adjacent
Zone, included within the provisions of paragraph (1), and that (i) is greater
than 35 miles from any point on the coastline of a Neighboring State for the
conduct of offshore leasing, pre-leasing, and related activities with respect
to natural gas leasing; or (ii) is greater than 50 miles from any point on the
coastline of a Neighboring State for the conduct of offshore leasing,
pre-leasing, and related activities with respect to oil and gas leasing. The
Adjacent State may also petition for leasing any other area within its Adjacent
Zone if leasing is allowed in the similar area of the Adjacent Zone of the
applicable Neighboring State, or if not allowed, if the Neighboring State,
acting through its Governor, expresses its concurrence with the petition. The
Secretary shall only consider such a petition upon making a finding that
leasing is allowed in the similar area of the Adjacent Zone of the applicable
Neighboring State or upon receipt of the concurrence of the Neighboring State.
The date of receipt by the Secretary of such concurrence by the Neighboring
State shall constitute the date of receipt of the petition for that area for
which the concurrence applies.
(B)In its petition, a State with an Adjacent Zone that
contains leased tracts may condition new leasing for oil and gas, or natural
gas for tracts within 35 miles of the coastline by—
(i)requiring a net
reduction in the number of production platforms;
(ii)requiring a net
increase in the average distance of production platforms from the
coastline;
(iii)limiting
permanent surface occupancy on new leases to areas that are more than 10 miles
from the coastline;
(iv)limiting some
tracts to being produced from shore or from platforms located on other tracts;
or
(v)other conditions
that the Adjacent State may deem appropriate as long as the Secretary does not
determine that production is made economically or technically impracticable or
otherwise impossible.
(C)Not later than 90 days after receipt of a petition
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall approve the petition, unless the
Secretary determines that leasing the area would probably cause serious harm or
damage to the marine resources of the State’s Adjacent Zone. Prior to approving
the petition, the Secretary shall complete an environmental assessment that
documents the anticipated environmental effects of leasing in the area included
within the scope of the petition.
(D)If the Secretary fails to approve or deny a petition in
accordance with subparagraph (C) the petition shall be considered to be
approved 90 days after receipt of the petition.
(E)Amendment of the
5-year leasing programNotwithstanding section 18, within 180
days of the approval of a petition under subparagraph (C) or (D), after the
expiration of the time limits in paragraph (1)(B), and within 180 days after
the date of enactment of the Grow American
Supply Act for the areas made available for leasing under
paragraph (2), the Secretary shall amend the current 5-Year Outer Continental
Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program to include a lease sale or sales for at least
75 percent of the associated areas, unless there are, from the date of
approval, expiration of such time limits, or enactment, as applicable, fewer
than 12 months remaining in the current 5-Year Leasing Program in which case
the Secretary shall include the associated areas within lease sales under the
next 5-Year Leasing Program. For purposes of amending the 5-Year Program in
accordance with this section, further consultations with States shall not be
required. For purposes of this section, an environmental assessment performed
under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to assess
the effects of approving the petition shall be sufficient to amend the 5-Year
Leasing Program.
(h)Option To Extend
Withdrawal From Leasing Within Certain Areas of the Outer Continental
ShelfA State, through enactment of a State statute, may extend
for a period of time of up to 5 years for each extension the withdrawal from
leasing for all or part of any area within the State’s Adjacent Zone located
more than 35 miles, but less than 75 miles, from the coastline that is subject
to subsection (g)(1)(B). A State may extend multiple times for any particular
area but not more than once per calendar year for any particular area, may a
State extend the withdrawal for an area to cause it to extend to a total of
more than 5 years from the date of concurrence by the legislature. A State must
prepare separate extensions, with enactment of separate State statutes, for oil
and gas leasing and for natural gas leasing. An extension by a State may affect
some areas to be withdrawn from all leasing and some areas to be withdrawn only
from one type of leasing.
(i)Adoption by any Adjacent State of any constitutional
provision, or enactment of any State statute, that has the effect, as
determined by the Secretary, of restricting either the Governor or the
Legislature, or both, from exercising full discretion related to subsection (g)
or (h), or both, shall automatically (1) prohibit any sharing of OCS Receipts
under this Act with the Adjacent State, and its coastal political subdivisions,
and (2) prohibit the Adjacent State from exercising any authority under
subsection (h), for the duration of the restriction. The Secretary shall make
the determination of the existence of such restricting constitutional provision
or State statute within 30 days of a petition by any outer Continental Shelf
lessee or any State.
(j)Prohibition on
Leasing East of the Military Mission Line
(1)Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, from and after the date of enactment of the
Grow American Supply Act, prior
to January 1, 2022, no area of the outer Continental Shelf located in the Gulf
of Mexico east of the military mission line may be offered for leasing for oil
and gas or natural gas unless a waiver is issued by the Secretary of Defense.
If such a waiver is granted, 50 percent of the OCS Receipts from a lease within
such area issued because of such waiver shall be paid under section 9 and the
other 50 percent shall be paid annually to the National Guards of all States,
allocated by the Secretary among the States on a per capita basis using the
entire population of such States.
(2)In this
subsection, the term military mission line means a line located at
86 degrees, 41 minutes West Longitude, and extending south from the coast of
Florida to the outer boundary of United States exclusive economic zone in the
Gulf of
Mexico.
.
10.Outer
Continental Shelf leasing programSection 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended—
(1)in subsection (a),
by adding at the end of paragraph (3) the following: The Secretary
shall, in each 5-year program, include lease sales that when viewed as a whole
propose to offer for oil and gas or natural gas leasing at least 75 percent of
the available unleased acreage within each OCS Planning Area. Available
unleased acreage is that portion of the outer Continental Shelf that is not
under lease at the time of the proposed lease sale, and has not otherwise been
made unavailable for leasing by law.
;
(2)in subsection (c),
by striking so much as precedes paragraph (3) and inserting the
following:
(c)(1)During the preparation
of any proposed leasing program under this section, the Secretary shall
consider and analyze leasing throughout the entire outer Continental Shelf
without regard to any other law affecting such leasing. During this preparation
the Secretary shall invite and consider suggestions from any interested Federal
agency, including the Attorney General, in consultation with the Federal Trade
Commission, and from the Governor of any coastal State. The Secretary may also
invite or consider any suggestions from the executive of any local government
in a coastal State that have been previously submitted to the Governor of such
State, and from any other person. Further, the Secretary shall consult with the
Secretary of Defense regarding military operational needs in the outer
Continental Shelf. The Secretary shall work with the Secretary of Defense to
resolve any conflicts that might arise regarding offering any area of the outer
Continental Shelf for oil and gas or natural gas leasing. If the Secretaries
are not able to resolve all such conflicts, any unresolved issues shall be
elevated to the President for resolution.
(2)After the consideration and analysis
required by paragraph (1), including the consideration of the suggestions
received from any interested Federal agency, the Federal Trade Commission, the
Governor of any coastal State, any local government of a coastal State, and any
other person, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a proposed
leasing program accompanied by a draft environmental impact statement prepared
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. After the publishing
of the proposed leasing program and during the comment period provided for on
the draft environmental impact statement, the Secretary shall submit a copy of
the proposed program to the Governor of each affected State for review and
comment. The Governor may solicit comments from those executives of local
governments in the Governor’s State that the Governor, in the discretion of the
Governor, determines will be affected by the proposed program. If any comment
by such Governor is received by the Secretary at least 15 days prior to
submission to the Congress pursuant to paragraph (3) and includes a request for
any modification of such proposed program, the Secretary shall reply in
writing, granting or denying such request in whole or in part, or granting such
request in such modified form as the Secretary considers appropriate, and
stating the Secretary’s reasons therefor. All such correspondence between the
Secretary and the Governor of any affected State, together with any additional
information and data relating thereto, shall accompany such proposed program
when it is submitted to the Congress.
;
and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(i)Projection of
State Adjacent Zone Resources and State and Local Government Shares of OCS
ReceiptsConcurrent with the publication of the scoping notice at
the beginning of the development of each 5-Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and
Gas Leasing Program, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Secretary
shall—
(1)provide to each
Adjacent State a current estimate of proven and potential oil and gas resources
located within the State’s Adjacent Zone; and
(2)provide to each
Adjacent State, and coastal political subdivisions thereof, a best-efforts
projection of the OCS Receipts that the Secretary expects will be shared with
each Adjacent State, and its coastal political subdivisions, using the
assumption that the unleased tracts within the State’s Adjacent Zone are fully
made available for leasing, including long-term projected OCS Receipts. In
addition, the Secretary shall include a macroeconomic estimate of the impact of
such leasing on the national economy and each State’s economy, including
investment, jobs, revenues, personal income, and other
categories.
.
11.Coordination
with Adjacent StatesSection
19 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1345) is amended—
(1)in subsection (a)
in the first sentence by inserting , for any tract located within the
Adjacent State’s Adjacent Zone,
after government
;
and
(2)by adding the
following:
(f)(1)No Federal agency may
permit or otherwise approve, without the concurrence of the Adjacent State, the
construction of a crude oil or petroleum products (or both) pipeline within the
part of the Adjacent State’s Adjacent Zone that is withdrawn from oil and gas
or natural gas leasing, except that such a pipeline may be approved, without
such Adjacent State’s concurrence, to pass through such Adjacent Zone if at
least 50 percent of the production projected to be carried by the pipeline
within its first 10 years of operation is from areas of the Adjacent State’s
Adjacent Zone.
(2)No State may prohibit the
construction within its Adjacent Zone or its State waters of a natural gas
pipeline that will transport natural gas produced from the outer Continental
Shelf. However, an Adjacent State may prevent a proposed natural gas pipeline
landing location if it proposes two alternate landing locations in the Adjacent
State, acceptable to the Adjacent State, located within 50 miles on either side
of the proposed landing
location.
.
12.Section 20(d) of the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1346) is amended—
(1)by inserting
(1)
after (d)
; and
(2)by adding at the
end the following:
(2)For all programs, lease sales,
leases, and actions under this Act, the following shall apply regarding the
application of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969:
(A)Granting or directing lease
suspensions and the conduct of all preliminary activities on outer Continental
Shelf tracts, including seismic activities, are categorically excluded from the
need to prepare either an environmental assessment or an environmental impact
statement, and the Secretary shall not be required to analyze whether any
exceptions to a categorical exclusion apply for activities conducted under the
authority of this Act.
(B)The environmental impact statement
developed in support of each 5-year oil and gas leasing program provides the
environmental analysis for all lease sales to be conducted under the program
and such sales shall not be subject to further environmental analysis.
(C)Exploration plans shall not be subject
to any requirement to prepare an environmental impact statement, and the
Secretary may find that exploration plans are eligible for categorical
exclusion due to the impacts already being considered within an environmental
impact statement or due to mitigation measures included within the plan.
(D)Within each OCS Planning Area, after
the preparation of the first development and production plan environmental
impact statement for a leased tract within the Area, future development and
production plans for leased tracts within the Area shall only require the
preparation of an environmental assessment unless the most recent development
and production plan environmental impact statement within the Area was
finalized more than 10 years prior to the date of the approval of the plan, in
which case an environmental impact statement shall be
required.
.
13.Review of outer
Continental Shelf development and production plansSection
25 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1351(a)) is amended to
read as follows:
25.Review of outer
Continental Shelf development and production plans
(a)Development and
Production Plans; Submission to Secretary; Statement of Facilities and
Operation; Submission to Governors of Affected States and Local
Governments
(1)Prior to
development and production pursuant to an oil and gas lease issued on or after
September 18, 1978, for any area of the outer Continental Shelf, or issued or
maintained prior to September 18, 1978, for any area of the outer Continental
Shelf, with respect to which no oil or gas has been discovered in paying
quantities prior to September 18, 1978, the lessee shall submit a development
and production plan (hereinafter in this section referred to as a
plan
) to the Secretary for review.
(2)A plan shall be
accompanied by a statement describing all facilities and operations, other than
those on the outer Continental Shelf, proposed by the lessee and known by the
lessee (whether or not owned or operated by such lessee) that will be
constructed or utilized in the development and production of oil or gas from
the lease area, including the location and site of such facilities and
operations, the land, labor, material, and energy requirements associated with
such facilities and operations, and all environmental and safety safeguards to
be implemented.
(3)Except for any
privileged or proprietary information (as such term is defined in regulations
issued by the Secretary), the Secretary, within 30 days after receipt of a plan
and statement, shall—
(A)submit such plan
and statement to the Governor of any affected State, and upon request to the
executive of any affected local government; and
(B)make such plan and
statement available to any appropriate interstate regional entity and the
public.
(b)Development and
Production Activities in Accordance With Plan as Lease
RequirementAfter the date of enactment of the
Grow American Supply Act, no
oil and gas lease may be issued pursuant to this Act in any region of the outer
Continental Shelf, unless such lease requires that development and production
activities be carried out in accordance with a plan that complies with the
requirements of this section. This section shall also apply to leases that do
not have an approved development and production plan as of the date of
enactment of the Grow American Supply
Act.
(c)Scope and
Contents of PlanA plan may apply to more than one oil and gas
lease, and shall set forth, in the degree of detail established by regulations
issued by the Secretary—
(1)the general work
to be performed;
(2)a description of
all facilities and operations located on the outer Continental Shelf that are
proposed by the lessee or known by the lessee (whether or not owned or operated
by such lessee) to be directly related to the proposed development, including
the location and size of such facilities and operations, and the land, labor,
material, and energy requirements associated with such facilities and
operations;
(3)the environmental
safeguards to be implemented on the outer Continental Shelf and how such
safeguards are to be implemented;
(4)all safety
standards to be met and how such standards are to be met;
(5)an expected rate
of development and production and a time schedule for performance; and
(6)such other relevant
information as the Secretary may by regulation require.
(d)Completeness
Review of the Plan
(1)Prior to
commencing any activity under a development and production plan pursuant to any
oil and gas lease issued or maintained under this Act, the lessee shall certify
that the plan is consistent with the terms of the lease and that it is
consistent with all statutory and regulatory requirements in effect on the date
of issuance of the lease, and any regulations promulgated under this Act
related to the conservation of resources after the date of lease issuance. The
plan shall include all required information and documentation required under
subsection (c).
(2)The Secretary shall
review the plan for completeness within 30 days of submission. If the Secretary
finds that the plan is not complete, the Secretary shall notify the lessee with
a detailed explanation of such modifications of such plan as are necessary to
achieve completeness. The Secretary shall have 30 days to review a modified
plan for completeness.
(e)Review for
Consistency of the Plan
(1)After a
determination that a plan is complete, the Secretary shall have 120 days to
conduct a review of the plan, to ensure that it is consistent with the terms of
the lease, and that it is consistent with all such statutory and regulatory
requirements applicable to the lease. The review shall ensure that the plan is
consistent with lease terms, and statutory and regulatory requirements
applicable to the lease, related to national security or national defense,
including any military operating stipulations or other restrictions. The
Secretary shall seek the assistance of the Department of Defense in the conduct
of the review of any plan prepared under this section for a lease containing
military operating stipulations or other restrictions and shall accept the
assistance of the Department of Defense in the conduct of the review of any
plan prepared under this section for any other lease when the Secretary of
Defense requests an opportunity to participate in the review. If the Secretary
finds that the plan is not consistent, the Secretary shall notify the lessee
with a detailed explanation of such modifications of such plan as are necessary
to achieve consistency.
(2)The Secretary
shall have 120 days to review a modified plan.
(3)The lessee shall
not conduct any activities under the plan during any 120-day review period, or
thereafter until the plan has been modified to achieve compliance as so
notified.
(4)After review by
the Secretary provided for by this section, a lessee may operate pursuant to
the plan without further review or approval by the Secretary.
(f)Review of
Revision of the Approved PlanThe lessee may submit to the
Secretary any revision of a plan if the lessee determines that such revision
will lead to greater recovery of oil and natural gas, improve the efficiency,
safety, and environmental protection of the recovery operation, is the only
means available to avoid substantial economic hardship to the lessee, or is
otherwise not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, to the extent such
revision is consistent with protection of the human, marine, and coastal
environments. The process to be used for the review of any such revision shall
be the same as that set forth in subsections (d) and (e).
(g)Cancellation of
Lease on Failure To Submit Plan or Comply With a PlanWhenever
the owner of any lease fails to submit a plan in accordance with regulations
issued under this section, or fails to comply with a plan, the lease may be
canceled in accordance with section 5(c) and (d). Termination of a lease
because of failure to comply with a plan, including required modifications or
revisions, shall not entitle a lessee to any compensation.
(h)Production and
Transportation of Natural Gas; Submission of Plan to Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission; Impact StatementIf any development and production
plan submitted to the Secretary pursuant to this section provides for the
production and transportation of natural gas, the lessee shall
contemporaneously submit to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that
portion of such plan that relates to the facilities for transportation of
natural gas. The Secretary and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall
agree as to which of them shall prepare an environmental impact statement
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) applicable to such portion of such plan, or conduct studies as to the
effect on the environment of implementing it. Thereafter, the findings and
recommendations by the agency preparing such environmental impact statement or
conducting such studies pursuant to such agreement shall be adopted by the
other agency, and such other agency shall not independently prepare another
environmental impact statement or duplicate such studies with respect to such
portion of such plan, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in
connection with its review of an application for a certificate of public
convenience and necessity applicable to such transportation facilities pursuant
to section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f), may prepare such
environmental studies or statement relevant to certification of such
transportation facilities as have not been covered by an environmental impact
statement or studies prepared by the Secretary. The Secretary, in consultation
with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, shall promulgate rules to
implement this subsection, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall
retain sole authority with respect to rules and procedures applicable to the
filing of any application with the Commission and to all aspects of the
Commission’s review of, and action on, any such
application.
.
14.Termination of
effect of laws prohibiting the spending of appropriated funds for certain
purposesAll provisions of
existing Federal law prohibiting the spending of appropriated funds to conduct
oil and natural gas leasing and preleasing activities, or to issue a lease to
any person, for any area of the outer Continental Shelf shall have no force or
effect.
15.Outer
Continental Shelf incompatible use
(a)No Federal agency may permit construction or operation
(or both) of any facility, or designate or maintain a restricted transportation
corridor or operating area on the Federal outer Continental Shelf or in State
waters, that will be incompatible with, as determined by the Secretary of the
Interior, oil and gas or natural gas leasing and substantially full exploration
and production of tracts that are geologically prospective for oil or natural
gas (or both).
(b)Subsection
(a) shall not apply to any facility, transportation corridor, or operating area
the construction, operation, designation, or maintenance of which is or will
be—
(1)located in an area
of the outer Continental Shelf that is unavailable for oil and gas or natural
gas leasing by operation of Federal law;
(2)used for a
military readiness activity (as defined in section 315(f) of Public Law
107–314; 16 U.S.C. 703 note); or
(3)required in the
national interest, as determined by the President.
16.Repurchase of
certain leases
(a)Authority To
repurchase and cancel certain leasesThe Secretary of the
Interior shall repurchase and cancel any Federal oil and gas, geothermal, coal,
oil shale, tar sands, or other mineral lease, whether onshore or offshore, but
not including any outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leases that were subject
to litigation in the Court of Federal Claims on January 1, 2008, if the
Secretary finds that such lease qualifies for repurchase and cancellation under
the regulations authorized by this section.
(b)Not
later than 365 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall publish a final regulation stating the conditions under which a lease
referred to in subsection (a) would qualify for repurchase and cancellation,
and the process to be followed regarding repurchase and cancellation. Such
regulation shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1)The Secretary
shall repurchase and cancel a lease after written request by the lessee upon a
finding by the Secretary that—
(A)a request by the
lessee for a required permit or other approval complied with applicable law,
except the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), and
terms of the lease, and such permit or other approval was denied;
(B)a Federal agency
failed to act on a request by the lessee for a required permit, other approval,
or administrative appeal within a regulatory or statutory timeframe associated
with the requested action, whether advisory or mandatory, or if none, within
180 days; or
(C)a Federal agency
attached a condition of approval, without agreement by the lessee, to a
required permit or other approval if such condition of approval was not
mandated by Federal statute or regulation in effect on the date of lease
issuance, or was not specifically allowed under the terms of the lease.
(2)A
lessee shall not be required to exhaust administrative remedies regarding a
permit request, administrative appeal, or other required request for approval
for the purposes of this section.
(3)The Secretary
shall make a final agency decision on a request by a lessee under this section
within 180 days of request.
(4)Compensation to a
lessee to repurchase and cancel a lease under this section shall be the amount
that a lessee would receive in a restitution case for a material breach of
contract.
(5)Compensation shall
be in the form of a check or electronic transfer from the Department of the
Treasury from funds deposited into miscellaneous receipts under the authority
of the same Act that authorized the issuance of the lease being
repurchased.
(6)Failure of the
Secretary to make a final agency decision on a request by a lessee under this
section within 180 days of request shall result in a 10 percent increase in the
compensation due to the lessee if the lease is ultimately repurchased.
(c)This section shall not be interpreted to prejudice any
other rights that the lessee would have in the absence of this section.
17.Offsite
environmental mitigationNotwithstanding any other provision of law,
any person conducting activities under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181
et seq.), the Geothermal Steam Act (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), the Mineral
Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), the Weeks Act (16
U.S.C. 552 et seq.), the General Mining Act of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), the
Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), or the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), may in satisfying any mitigation
requirements associated with such activities propose mitigation measures on a
site away from the area impacted and the Secretary of the Interior shall accept
these proposed measures if the Secretary finds that they generally achieve the
purposes for which mitigation measures appertained.
18.Regulation of
onshore surface-disturbing activitiesSection 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30
U.S.C. 226(g)) is amended to read as follows:
(g)Regulation of
Surface-Disturbing Activities
(1)Regulation of
surface-disturbing activitiesThe Secretary of the Interior, or
for National Forest lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, shall regulate all
surface-disturbing activities conducted pursuant to any lease issued under this
Act, and shall determine reclamation and other actions as required in the
interest of conservation of surface resources.
(2)Submission of
exploration plan; completion review; compliance review
(A)Prior to beginning
oil and gas exploration activities, a lessee shall submit an exploration plan
to the Secretary of the Interior for review.
(B)The Secretary
shall review the plan for completeness within 10 days of submission.
(C)In the event the
exploration plan is determined to be incomplete, the Secretary shall notify the
lessee in writing and specify the items or information needed to complete the
exploration plan.
(D)The Secretary
shall have 10 days to review any modified exploration plan submitted by the
lessee.
(E)To be deemed
complete, an exploration plan shall include, in the degree of detail to be
determined by the Secretary by rule or regulation—
(i)a
drilling plan containing a description of the drilling program;
(ii)the surface and
projected completion zone location;
(iii)pertinent
geologic data;
(iv)expected hazards,
and proposed mitigation measures to address such hazards;
(v)a
schedule of anticipated exploration activities to be undertaken;
(vi)a
description of equipment to be used for such activities;
(vii)a certification
from the lessee stating that the exploration plan complies with all lease,
regulatory and statutory requirements in effect on the date of the issuance of
the lease and any regulations promulgated after the date of lease issuance
related to the conservation of resources;
(viii)evidence that
the lessee has secured an adequate bond, surety, or other financial arrangement
prior to commencement of any surface disturbing activity;
(ix)a
plan that details the complete and timely reclamation of the lease tract;
and
(x)such other
relevant information as the Secretary may by regulation require.
(F)Upon a
determination that the exploration plan is complete, the Secretary shall have
30 days from the date the plan is deemed complete to conduct a review of the
plan.
(G)If the Secretary
finds the exploration plan is not consistent with all statutory and regulatory
requirements described in subparagraph (E)(vii), the Secretary shall notify the
lessee with a detailed explanation of such modifications of the exploration
plan as are necessary to achieve compliance.
(H)The lessee shall
not take any action under the exploration plan within a 30-day review period,
or thereafter until the plan has been modified to achieve compliance as so
notified.
(I)After review by
the Secretary provided by this subsection, a lessee may operate pursuant to the
plan without further review or approval by the Secretary.
(3)Plan revisions;
conduct of exploration activities
(A)If a significant
revision of an exploration plan under this subsection is submitted to the
Secretary, the process to be used for the review of such revision shall be the
same as set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(B)All exploration
activities pursuant to any lease shall be conducted in accordance with an
exploration plan that has been submitted to and reviewed by the Secretary or a
revision of such plan.
(4)Submission of
development and production plan; completeness review; compliance
review
(A)Prior to beginning
oil and gas development and production activities, a lessee shall submit a
development and exploration plan to the Secretary of the Interior. Upon
submission, such plans shall be subject to a review for completeness.
(B)The Secretary
shall review the plan for completeness within 30 days of submission.
(C)In the event a
development and production plan is determined to be incomplete, the Secretary
shall notify the lessee in writing and specify the items or information needed
to complete the plan.
(D)The Secretary
shall have 30 days to review for completeness any modified development and
production plan submitted by the lessee.
(E)To be deemed
complete, a development and production plan shall include, in the degree of
detail to be determined by the Secretary by rule or regulation—
(i)a
drilling plan containing a description of the drilling program;
(ii)the surface and
projected completion zone location;
(iii)pertinent geologic
data;
(iv)expected hazards,
and proposed mitigation measures to address such hazards;
(v)a
statement describing all facilities and operations proposed by the lessee and
known by the lessee (whether or not owned or operated by such lessee) that
shall be constructed or utilized in the development and production of oil or
gas from the leases areas, including the location and site of such facilities
and operations, the land, labor, material, and energy requirements associated
with such facilities and operations;
(vi)the general work
to be performed;
(vii)the
environmental safeguards to be implemented in connection with the development
and production and how such safeguards are to be implemented;
(viii)all safety
standards to be met and how such standards are to be met;
(ix)an expected rate
of development and production and a time schedule for performance;
(x)a
certification from the lessee stating that the development and production plan
complies with all lease, regulatory, and statutory requirements in effect on
the date of issuance of the lease, and any regulations promulgated after the
date of lease issuance related to the conservation of resources;
(xi)evidence that the
lessee has secured an adequate bond, surety, or other financial arrangement
prior to commencement of any surface disturbing activity;
(xii)a plan that
details the complete and timely reclamation of the lease tract; and
(xiii)such other
relevant information as the Secretary may by regulation require.
(F)Upon a
determination that the development and production plan is complete, the
Secretary shall have 120 days from the date the plan is deemed complete to
conduct a review of the plan.
(G)If the Secretary
finds the development and production plan is not consistent with all statutory
and regulatory requirements described in subparagraph (E)(x), the Secretary
shall notify the lessee with a detailed explanation of such modifications of
the development and production plan as are necessary to achieve
compliance.
(H)The lessee shall
not take any action under the development and production plan within a 120 day
review period, or thereafter until the plan has been modified to achieve
compliance as so notified.
(5)Plan revisions;
conduct of development and production activities
(A)If a significant
revision of a development and production plan under this subsection is
submitted to the Secretary, the process to be used for the review of such
revision shall be the same as set forth in paragraph (4) of this
subsection.
(B)All development
and production activities pursuant to any lease shall be conducted in
accordance with a development and production plan that has been submitted to
and reviewed by the Secretary or a revision of such plan.
(6)Cancellation of
lease on failure to submit plan or comply with approved
planWhenever the owner of any lease fails to submit a plan in
accordance with regulations issued under this section, or fails to comply with
a plan, the lease may be canceled in accordance with section 31. Termination of
a lease because of failure to comply with a plan, including required
modifications or revisions, shall not entitle a lessee to any
compensation.
.
19.Authority to use
decommissioned offshore oil and gas platforms and other facilities for
artificial reef, scientific research, or other uses
(a)This section may be cited as the Rigs to Reefs Act of 2009
.
(b)The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301 et
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 9 the following:
10.Use of
decommissioned offshore oil and gas platforms and other facilities for
artificial reef, scientific research, or other uses
(a)The Secretary shall issue regulations under which the
Secretary may authorize use of an offshore oil and gas platform or other
facility that is decommissioned from service for oil and gas purposes for an
artificial reef, scientific research, or any other use authorized under section
8(p) or any other applicable Federal law.
(b)The Secretary shall not allow the transfer of a
decommissioned offshore oil and gas platform or other facility to another
person unless the Secretary is satisfied that the transferee is sufficiently
bonded, endowed, or otherwise financially able to fulfill its obligations,
including but not limited to—
(1)ongoing maintenance
of the platform or other facility;
(2)any liability
obligations that might arise;
(3)removal of the
platform or other facility if determined necessary by the Secretary; and
(4)any other
requirements and obligations that the Secretary may deem appropriate by
regulation.
(c)The Secretary shall ensure that plugging and
abandonment of wells is accomplished at an appropriate time.
(d)Potential To
petition To opt-out of regulationsAn Adjacent State acting
through a resolution of its legislature, with concurrence of its Governor, may
preliminarily petition to opt-out of the application of regulations promulgated
under this section to platforms and other facilities located in the area of its
Adjacent Zone within 12 miles of the coastline. Upon receipt of the preliminary
petition, the Secretary shall complete an environmental assessment that
documents the anticipated environmental effects of approving the petition. The
Secretary shall provide the environmental assessment to the State, which then
has the choice of no action or confirming its petition by further action of its
legislature, with the concurrence of its Governor. The Secretary is authorized
to except such area from the application of such regulations, and shall approve
any confirmed petition.
(e)A person that had used an offshore oil and gas platform
or other facility for oil and gas purposes and that no longer has any ownership
or control of the platform or other facility shall not be liable under Federal
law for any costs or damages arising from such platform or other facility after
the date the platform or other facility is used for any purpose under
subsection (a), unless such costs or damages arise from—
(1)use of the platform
or other facility by the person for development or production of oil or gas;
or
(2)another act or
omission of the person.
(f)Other Leasing
and Use Not AffectedThis section, and the use of any offshore
oil and gas platform or other facility for any purpose under subsection (a),
shall not affect—
(1)the authority of
the Secretary to lease any area under this Act; or
(2)any activity
otherwise authorized under this
Act.
.
(c)The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations
under subsection (b) by not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
(d)Study and Report
on Effects of Removal of PlatformsNot later than one year after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in
consultation with other Federal agencies as the Secretary deems advisable,
shall study and report to the Congress regarding how the removal of offshore
oil and gas platforms and other facilities from the outer Continental Shelf
would affect existing fish stocks and coral populations.
20.OCS regional
headquartersNot later than
July 1, 2011, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish the headquarters
for the Atlantic OCS Region and the headquarters for the Pacific OCS Region
within a State bordering the Atlantic OCS Region and a State bordering the
Pacific OCS Region, respectively, from among the States bordering those
Regions, that petitions by no later than January 1, 2011, for leasing, for oil
and gas or natural gas, covering at least 40 percent of the area of its
Adjacent Zone within 75 miles of the coastline. Such Atlantic and Pacific OCS
Regions headquarters shall be located within 25 miles of the coastline and each
Minerals Management Service OCS regional headquarters shall be the permanent
duty station for all Minerals Management Service personnel that on a daily
basis spend on average 60 percent or more of their time in performance of
duties in support of the activities of the respective Region, except that the
Minerals Management Service may house regional inspection staff in other
locations. Each OCS Region shall each be led by a Regional Director who shall
be an employee within the Senior Executive Service.
21.Oil shale and
tar sands amendments
(a)Section 369(o) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 728; 42 U.S.C. 15927) is amended by designating
the existing language as (1), by redesignating the existing (1) and (2) as (A)
and (B), respectively, and by adding a new paragraph (2), as follows:
(2)In the absence of the issuance of regulations or other
designation by the Secretary, the following shall be the royalties, fees,
rentals, bonus provisions and other payments for research, development and
demonstration leases, and commercial leases, issued under the authority of this
section:
(A)Royalty rates
for commercial leases
(i)The royalty rate for commercial leases shall be 10 per
centum of the value of production at the first sale.
(ii)The
royalty rate fixed in the lease shall be reduced up to 5 per centum as
follows:
(I)100 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production within 3
years after issuance of the lease.
(II)80 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production between 3 and
4 years after issuance of the lease.
(III)60 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production between 4 and
5 years after issuance of the lease.
(IV)40 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production between 5 and
6 years after issuance of the lease.
(V)20 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production between 6 and
7 years after issuance of the lease.
(B)Royalty rates
for research, development, and demonstration leases
(i)The royalty rate for research, development, and
demonstration leases that have been converted to full-sized leases shall be 8
percent of the value of production at the first sale.
(ii)The
royalty rate fixed in the lease shall be reduced up to 3 per centum as
follows:
(I)100 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production within 3
years after conversion to a full-sized lease.
(II)80 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production between 3 and
4 years after conversion to a full-sized lease.
(III)60 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production between 4 and
5 years after conversion to a full-sized lease.
(IV)40 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production between 5 and
6 years after conversion to a full-sized lease.
(V)20 per centum of
this amount if the lease is brought to first sustained production between 6 and
7 years after conversion to a full-sized lease.
(C)Commercial tracts shall be leased to the highest
bidder based on sealed bids. The provisions for deposits, rentals, fees, and
other matters shall be the same for commercial oil shale and tar sands leases
as for oil and gas leases under the Mineral Leasing
Act.
.
(b)Section 21 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 241) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
(e)
(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 35, all funds
received from and under an oil shale or tar sands lease shall be disposed of as
provided in this subsection.
(2)
(A)The
Secretary shall deposit into a separate account in the Treasury all receipts
derived from any oil shale or tar sands lease.
(B)Allocations to
states and local political subdivisionsThe Secretary shall
allocate 50 percent of the receipts deposited into the account established
under subparagraph (A) to the State within the boundaries of which the leased
lands are located, with a portion of that to be paid directly by the Secretary
to the State’s local political subdivisions as provided in this
paragraph.
(C)Transmission of
allocations
(i)Not later than the last business day of the month after
the month in which the revenues were received, the Secretary shall
transmit—
(I)to each State
two-thirds of such State’s allocations under subparagraph (B), and in
accordance with clauses (ii) and (iii) to certain county-equivalent and
municipal political subdivisions of such State a total of one-third of such
State’s allocations under subparagraph (B), together with all accrued interest
thereon; and
(II)the remaining
balance of such receipts deposited into the account that are not allocated
under subparagraph (B), together with interest thereon, shall be transmitted to
the miscellaneous receipts account of the Treasury, except that until a lease
has been in production for 20 years 20 percent of such remaining balance
derived from a lease shall be paid in accordance with subclause (I).
(ii)Allocations to
certain county-equivalent political subdivisionsThe Secretary
shall under clause (i)(I) make equitable allocations of the receipts to
county-equivalent political subdivisions that the Secretary determines are
closely associated with the leasing and production of oil shale and tar sands,
under a formula that the Secretary shall determine by regulation.
(iii)Allocations to
municipal political subdivisionsThe initial allocation to each
county-equivalent political subdivision under clause (ii) shall be further
allocated to the county-equivalent political subdivision and any municipal
political subdivisions located partially or wholly within the boundaries of the
county-equivalent political subdivision on an equitable basis under a formula
that the Secretary shall determine by regulation.
(D)The deposits in the Treasury account established under
this section shall be invested by the Secretary of the Treasury in securities
backed by the full faith and credit of the United States having maturities
suitable to the needs of the account and yielding the highest reasonably
available interest rates as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(E)A recipient of funds under this subsection may use the
funds for any lawful purpose as determined by State law. Funds allocated under
this subsection to States and local political subdivisions may be used as
matching funds for other Federal programs without limitation. Funds allocated
to local political subdivisions under this subsection may not be used in
calculation of payments to such local political subdivisions under programs for
payments in lieu of taxes or other similar programs.
(F)No recipient of funds under this subsection shall be
required to account to the Federal Government for the expenditure of such
funds, except as otherwise may be required by law.
(3)In
this subsection:
(A)County-equivalent
political subdivisionThe term county-equivalent political
subdivision means a political jurisdiction immediately below the level
of State government, including a county, parish, borough in Alaska, independent
municipality not part of a county, parish, or borough in Alaska, or other
equivalent subdivision of a State.
(B)Municipal
political subdivisionThe term municipal political
subdivision means a municipality located within and part of a county,
parish, borough in Alaska, or other equivalent subdivision of a
State.
.
(c)Interagency
coordination and expeditious review of permitting process
(1)Department of
Interior as Lead AgencyUpon written request of a prospective
applicant for Federal authorization to develop a proposed oil shale or tar
sands project, the Department shall act as the lead Federal agency for the
purposes of coordinating all applicable Federal authorizations and
environmental reviews. To the maximum extent practicable under applicable
Federal law, the Secretary shall coordinate this Federal authorization and
review process with any Indian tribes and State and local agencies responsible
for conducting any separate permitting and environmental reviews.
(2)The
Secretary, in coordination with the agencies with authority over Federal
authorizations and, as appropriate, with Indian tribes and State and local
agencies that are willing to coordinate their separate permitting and
environmental reviews with the Federal authorizations and environmental
reviews, shall establish a schedule with prompt and binding intermediate and
ultimate deadlines, not to exceed 18 months from the date of the written
request, for the review of, and Federal authorization decisions relating to,
oil shale or tar sands project development and operation.
(3)Consolidated
Environmental ReviewIf the Department determines that two or
more environmental impact statements are required, the Department shall
consolidate all or some of such statements in order to promote efficiency and
timeliness in the permitting process to the extent practicable. The Department
may consolidate the environmental reviews of any Federal agency considering any
aspect of the proposed oil shale or tar sands project including ancillary
surface processing facilities, electric generation or transmission facilities,
and other related facilities.
(4)In
the event any agency has denied a Federal authorization required for an oil
shale or tar sands project, or has failed to act by a deadline established by
the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (2) for deciding whether to issue the
Federal authorization, the applicant or any State in which the proposed oil
shale or tar sands project would be located may file an appeal with the
Secretary. In consultation with the affected agency, the Secretary may then
either issue the necessary Federal authorization with appropriate conditions,
or deny the appeal. The Secretary shall issue a decision within 60 days after
the filing of the appeal.
(5)Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue any regulations necessary to implement
this section.
(d)Oil shale and
tar sands land exchangesSection 206 of the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716), is hereby amended by adding the
following new subsection:
(j) Oil shale and
tar sands land exchangesFor
the purpose of promoting the economic recovery of oil shale and tar sands
resources, the Secretary of the Interior shall identify and pursue to
completion exchange and disposition of non-park, non-wilderness Federal lands,
including lands having a non-Federal surface owner, containing deposits of oil
shale and/or tar sands. The Secretary shall identify blocks of land containing
oil shale and/or tar sands deposits for the purpose of maximizing consolidation
of land ownership, and mineral interests, into manageable blocks within the
following geologic basins located in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming: Green River,
Piceance Creek, Uinta, and Washakie. The Secretary shall consider the geology
of the basin when determining the size of manageable blocks. The Secretary
shall conduct exchanges that are favorable to and in the overall best interest
of the United
States.
.
(e)Procurement of
unconventional fuelsSection 2398a of title 10, United States
Code, is amended in subsection (d) by striking 1 or more
and
inserting up to 25
.
22.
(a)It is the intention of the Congress that this Act, among
other things, results in a healthy and growing American industrial,
manufacturing, transportation, and service sector employing the vast talents of
America’s workforce to assist in the development of affordable energy from the
outer Continental Shelf. Moreover, the Congress intends to monitor the
deployment of personnel and material in the outer Continental Shelf to
encourage the development of American technology and manufacturing to enable
United States workers to benefit from this Act by good jobs and careers, as
well as the establishment of important industrial facilities to support
expanded access to American resources.
(b)Safeguard for
Extraordinary AbilitySection 30(a) of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1356(a)) is amended in the matter preceding
paragraph (1) by striking regulations which
and inserting
regulations that shall be supplemental and complimentary with and under
no circumstances a substitution for the provisions of the Constitution and laws
of the United States extended to the subsoil and seabed of the outer
Continental Shelf pursuant to section 4(a)(1) of this Act, except insofar as
such laws would otherwise apply to individuals who have extraordinary ability
in the sciences, arts, education, or business, which has been demonstrated by
sustained national or international acclaim, and that
.
23.Repeal of the
Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of
2006 is repealed effective October 1, 2009, except the Secretary of the
Interior shall make any payments to State and local governments based on fiscal
year 2009 receipts under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.
24.Section 27 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1353) is amended as follows:
(1)By striking
paragraph (3) of subsection (a) and replacing it with the following:
(3)Title to any
royalty or net profit share oil or gas from leases issued under this Act or the
Mineral Leasing Act may not be transferred by the Secretary to another Federal
Government agency except by sale for cash at fair market value. If not
purchased by another Federal Government agency, such oil and gas must be sold
under subsections (b), (c), or (d). Proceeds from sales under this section
shall be treated as offsetting receipts and shall be subject to any receipts
sharing provisions applicable to the leases from which the in-kind royalty or
net profit share production was produced in the same manner as if it had been
paid in value. After payment of such shared receipts to State and local
governments, the Secretary shall deposit the remainder of the receipts from
sales into the Treasury of the United States and they shall be credited to
miscellaneous
receipts.
.
(2)In
the first sentence of subsection (d) strike transferred
and
insert sold
.
25.Mandatory
issuance of regulations promoting production of natural gas from gas
hydrates
(a)Section 353 of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15909) is amended as follows:
(1)In subsection
(b)(1) strike may
and insert shall
.
(2)In subsection
(b)(3) in the first sentence strike if the Secretary determines that
such royalty relief would encourage production
.
(3)In subsection
(b)(4) by inserting at the end when the price of natural gas on NYMEX
(Henry Hub) exceeds $6.75/million btu (January 1, 2008 dollars)
.
(b)The Secretary
shall issue the final regulations under section 353 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
26.Mandatory
issuance of regulations promoting enhanced oil and natural gas production
through carbon dioxide injection
(a)Subsection (b)(1)
of section 354 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15910) is amended to
read as follows:
(1)The Secretary shall
undertake a rulemaking to provide for reduction of the royalty under a Federal
oil and gas lease that is an eligible
lease.
.
(b)The Secretary
shall issue the final regulations under section 354 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act.
27.Minimum rental
rates for future oil, gas, and coal Federal leasesEffective
upon the date of enactment of this Act, the minimum annual rental rate for oil
and gas, oil shale, tar sands, and coal leases issued after that date shall be
no less than $4.00 per acre for the first 5 years, and increasing by $1 per
acre/per year for each thereafter until the lessee begins to pay royalties for
leases under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Mineral
Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), and any other statute that provides
for the leasing of lands and waters owned and/or controlled by the Federal
Government for mineral exploration and production. Any increased rental
receipts under this section shall be treated as offsetting receipts.
28.Outer
Continental Shelf discharges and emissionsThe Secretary of the Interior shall require
that all operations related to oil and gas exploration, development, and
production on the outer Continental Shelf utilize the best available and safest
technology to minimize air emissions and discharges into the water, including
but not limited to drilling muds and fluids, unless the Minerals Management
Service Regional Supervisor determines that the interests of safety require
such discharges or emissions.
29.Onshore oil and
gas royalties
(a)Effective January 1, 2010, the royalty rate for all new
oil and gas leases issued under the authority of the Mineral Leasing Act (30
U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351
et seq.), and other statutes providing for the issuance of oil and gas leases
on public lands or other lands containing mineral rights owned by the United
States Government, excluding the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1331 et seq.), shall be fixed by the Secretary at 15 per centum in the amount
or value of production saved, removed, or sold, subject to the following
adjustments—
(1)if the arithmetic
average of the closing prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange for light
sweet crude oil, or a similar index as determined by the Secretary, for the 365
days prior to issuance of the final notice of lease sale exceeded $150.00 per
barrel (in January 1, 2008, dollars), the royalty rate shall be fixed by the
Secretary at 161/4 per centum in the amount or value of
production, removed, or sold;
(2)if the arithmetic
average of the closing prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange for light
sweet crude oil, or a similar index as determined by the Secretary, for the 365
days prior to issuance of the final notice of lease sale was less than $75.00
per barrel (in January 1, 2008, dollars), the royalty rate shall be fixed by
the Secretary at 133/4 per centum in the amount or value
of production, removed, or sold; and
(3)the royalty rate
fixed in the lease shall be reduced up to 4 per centum as follows: (A) 100 per
centum of this amount if the first production well is spudded within 3 years
after issuance of the lease, (B) 75 per centum of this amount if the first
production well is spudded between 3 and 4 years after issuance of the lease,
(C) 50 per centum of this amount if the first production well is spudded
between 4 and 5 years after issuance of the lease, (D) 25 per centum of this
amount if the first production well is spudded between 5 and 6 years after
issuance of the lease.
(b)The
Secretary may reduce the royalty rate fixed under subsection (a) by up to 2 per
centum for tracts located in frontier areas, as determined by the Secretary, if
the Secretary finds that the royalty rate otherwise fixed by subsection (a)
would likely significantly reduce production resulting from use of such bidding
system in frontier areas.
(c)The royalty rate for oil and gas leases in effect on
January 1, 2010, that have not spudded the first production well prior to July
1, 2009, issued under the authority of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181
et seq.), the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.),
and other statutes providing for the issuance of oil and gas leases on public
lands or other lands containing mineral rights owned by the United States
Government, excluding the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et
seq.) shall be reduced up to 2 per centum as follows:
(1)100 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded within 3 years after
issuance of the lease,
(2)75 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 3 and 4 years after
issuance of the lease,
(3)50 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 4 and 5 years after
issuance of the lease, and
(4)25 per centum of
this amount if the first production well is spudded between 5 and 6 years after
issuance of the lease.
30.OCS joint
permitting offices
(a)The
Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section as the
Secretary
) shall establish Federal OCS Joint Regional Permitting
Offices (referred to in this section as the Regional Permitting
Offices
).
(b)Memorandum of
UnderstandingNot later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for
purposes of this section with—
(1)the Secretary of
Commerce;
(2)the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency; and
(3)the Chief of
Engineers.
(c)Designation of
Qualified Staff
(1)Not later than 30 days after the date of the signing of
the memorandum of understanding under subsection (b), all Federal signatory
parties shall assign to each of the Regional Permitting Offices identified in
subsection (d) a sufficient number of employees with expertise to address the
full spectrum of agency regulatory issues relating to the Regional Permitting
Office in which the employee is employed, including, as applicable, particular
expertise in—
(A)the consultations
and the preparation of biological opinions under section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536);
(B)permits under
section 404 of Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344);
(C)regulatory matters
under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
(D)the consultations
and preparation of documents under the Marine Mammals Protection Act;
and
(E)the preparation of
analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.).
(2)Each
employee assigned under paragraph (1) shall—
(A)not later than 90
days after the date of assignment, report to the Minerals Management Service
Regional Director in the Regional Permitting Office to which the employee is
assigned;
(B)be responsible for
all issues relating to the jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the
employee; and
(C)participate as
part of the team of personnel working on proposed energy projects, planning,
and environmental analyses.
(d)Regional
Permitting OfficesThe following Minerals Management Service
Regional Headquarters shall serve as the Regional Permitting Offices:
(1)Anchorage,
Alaska.
(2)New Orleans,
Louisiana.
(3)Minerals Management
Service Pacific Regional Headquarters.
(4)Minerals
Management Service Atlantic Regional Headquarters.
(e)Not
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress a report that outlines the results of the Regional
Permitting Offices to date.
(f)For the purposes of coordination and processing of oil and
gas use authorizations on the Federal outer Continental Shelf under the
administration of the Regional Permitting Offices identified in subsection (d),
the Secretary may authorize the expenditure or transfer of such funds as are
necessary to—
(1)the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service;
(2)the Bureau of
Indian Affairs;
(3)the Environmental
Protection Agency;
(4)the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
(5)the Corps of
Engineers.